Saving an Angel

This story is completely fictional. Any similarities to any persons or events, past or present are purely coincidental. This story may contain scenes which involve sexual situations between young males. If this type of material is offensive to you, or it is not legal for you to be reading this type of material, please do not read any further. This story is copyright © 2007 by Jason Finigan. Please do not copy this story for distribution or post on any online server without the author's permission. Please send all your comments to: jasonfinigan@yahoo.com. You can also visit my site at: www.jasonfinigan.net. Thanks and enjoy the story.

From the last chapter:

"Going out, Ryan?" Jodie asked, hanging up the phone.

"Yes. I have to pick up my boyfriend for his interview. Who was that on the phone?" he asked.

"That was Kira. She told me that Rick had been placed under arrest and is currently a guest of the Halton Regional Police at the Burlington station. From what she said, he didn't exactly go quietly and complicated his case even more, by making several threats in front of officers."

"Oh boy. That man is his own worst enemy," Ryan said.

"I didn't like him to begin with. He gave me the creeps."

"Well, he's not going to be here any longer, so we don't have to worry about him. See you in a little bit Jodie," Ryan said, waving to her, already heading for the door.

"See you soon, Ryan," she called after him.

Chapter 12

We had already finished our snack, and were cuddling up together on the couch. Little Adam was sitting between us. There wasn't much on TV, but I don't think that really mattered to any of us. We were soon going to have lunch, and despite the orange that I had eaten earlier, my stomach was demanding more. Every so often I caught myself looking at the clock. Like everything else you're anxiously waiting for, time seemed to slow to a crawl, making lunch seem like it's taking forever to be ready. In reality, I don't think it took any longer than half an hour before we heard Uncle Darren coming into the living room.

"Alright boys," he beamed, "lunch is ready. It's on the dining room table. Turn off the TV and go have a seat."

"Can we eat it in here?" Greg asked.

"No, Greg, I'm afraid not. You can come back to watch TV once you've finished lunch.

"Nah, that's okay Uncle Darren. There's nothing on any ways," Greg said, getting up from the couch and helping Adam up.

"So what do you think you want to do after lunch then?" I asked him.

"We could play some video games until Dad gets back," he suggested.

"That sounds like a plan," I said.

"What do you think Munchkin? You want to play some video games?" Darren asked Adam.

"I wanna go swimming again," Adam replied hopefully, looking up at Darren.

"Sorry sport, you've got to wait at least an hour after lunch before you can go swimming. We don't want you to get a sore tummy, do we?" Darren asked.

"No," Adam said, the disappointment obvious in his voice.

"Don't worry buddy. You go on up with your brothers to play some video games and pretty soon your dad will be back from work, and I promise you you can go swimming when he does, okay?"

"Okay!" Adam said, once more a smile lighting up his face.

"Okay," Darren smiled back at him. "Now, get into the dining room, and get some lunch. By the looks of that stomach of yours, it needs to be filled," he said, playfully poking a finger into Adam's stomach, causing him to giggle.

The three of us went into the dining room. I don't think I had ever seen so much food being available for lunch. When it was just my Mom and me, I'd have a couple of sandwiches or something like that, maybe some soup. But what Uncle Darren had prepared for us was beyond anything I had ever thought possible.

"Uncle Darren, is this all for us?" I asked, standing there before the table, my mouth wide open, as were Greg's and Adam's.

"Well, not entirely. I don't think three boys such as yourselves can go through this much food on your own, but yes. That's lunch."

"Wow!" Greg exclaimed.

That single word said it all. On the table was a spread of food unlike anything I had ever seen. It almost reminded me of the all you can eat buffet at the Mandarin, rather than the lunch I was expecting. Uncle Darren had made sub sandwiches, soup, salad, and even put out some more fruit.

"Have a seat boys, and let's get started," Darren said, himself sitting down at the table. Greg and Adam sat on one side of the table, and I sat on the other. There was so much on the table that I almost didn't know what to pick out first. I moved my hand over the selection on the table for a bit before finally deciding on one of the sub sandwiches. Uncle Darren had really packed them. Inside each one was Swiss cheese, various different types of meat slices, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and pretty much everything you could put into a sandwich. They were huge. Adam and Greg had both also grabbed a sandwich for themselves, but I also saw Greg eying the soup.

"What kind of soup is that, Uncle Darren?" Greg asked.

"That's chicken vegetable, Greg," Darren answered. "I made it myself."

"It smells good!"

"You want some?" Darren asked.

"Yes please," Greg said, his eyes never leaving the pot of soup.

"Hand me your bowl please Greg," Darren said, which Greg did. Uncle Darren then filled it up with the soup, and handed it back to Greg. "There you go. Be careful, it's hot."

"Okay, thanks," Greg said, already beginning to blow on the steaming bowl of soup. Adam meanwhile was busily making short work of the sandwich he had picked out. It was about that time that we heard the front door open and close.

"Hey guys! We're home!" Ryan called out.

"Dad!" I said excitedly, and jumped up from the table and ran to Ryan, throwing myself in his arms.

"Hey there buddy!" Ryan said, smiling and holding me close to him. "I see you missed me."

"Yeah. I did, Dad," I answered him.

"Hello Ryan, Jason," Darren said, walking to the front door behind me followed by both Greg and Adam. "How did the interview go Jason?"

"It went pretty well. I'll know in a couple days whether or not I'll get the job," he replied.

"Oh you'll get it, Jason. Just have faith in yourself," Ryan said.

"Are you kidding? I was a nervous wreck," Jason laughed.

"Who wouldn't be?" Darren asked. "Come on you two. Lunch is already on the table, and these guys have been attacking it, so if you want any, I'd hurry on in there."

"Hey Daddy!" Adam said, holding his arms out to Ryan.

"Well hello there little one," Ryan said, picking him up. "And what have you done, today?"

"We went swimming and then watched some TV and Uncle Darren let us have some fruit, and we were just eating lunch."

"Sounds busy. Did you leave me and Jason any?"

"Uh huh," Adam said, nodding his head.

"Okay, why don't you go back into the dinning room and finish your lunch. We'll be there in a minute. Okay?"

"Okay Daddy," Adam said, and gave Ryan a big hug.

"Off you go then," Ryan said, putting Adam back down.

"And what about you, Greg?" Ryan said.

"This place is so cool, Dad! Are you sure it's okay that we can live here with you?" Greg asked uncertainly.

"Of course it is, Son. Come here," Ryan said, holding out his arms. Greg only hesitated for a split second and then let himself fall into Ryan's arms. Ryan gently wrapped his arms around Greg and hugged him close. "You and your brothers are very special to me. I love all of you very much. We're a family now."

"I've never had anyone that wanted me before," Greg said, sobbing on Ryan's shoulder.

"Well, Son, you do now. You and your brothers are all my sons now. And one day, hopefully soon, I'm going to adopt all three of you."

"You really mean that?" Greg asked.

"I really do," Ryan said. "Now, come on. Let's get some lunch, okay?"

"Okay," Greg said, stepping away from Ryan, tears still streaking down his face, but he was smiling, and for the first time, I think it was the first time he really started to see himself as part of a family.

I couldn't help but giggle at seeing Ryan's reaction to the food that was on the table. His eyes seemed like they were going to pop out of their sockets, and he was opening and closing his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. At least, not for a couple minutes.

"I should have guessed," Ryan said, grinning at Uncle Darren.

"What's that, Ryan?" Darren asked.

"I should have known that you'd make a lunch similar to this. You always did make lots of food when you were living with mom and dad."

"Hey, I've always believed that good food makes for good company, and with three growing boys, you've got to have a lot of food ready. Especially for this one," Darren said, poking a finger into the side of Adam and making him giggle.

"Uncle Darren, I'm eating," Adam said, almost dropping the sandwich he was still eating.

"Sorry, Munchkin," Darren said.

"That's okay."

"Are you getting enough there, Buddy?" Ryan asked Adam.

"Uh huh," Adam mumbled, now chewing another bite from his sandwich.

"Well it's nice of you all to leave us something to eat at least," Ryan kidded us.

"Dad!" we complained at the same time, which caused all the adults in the room to laugh.

"Just teasing you boys. You go right ahead and eat as much as you want."

"Daddy, can we go swimming after?" Adam asked, after finishing his sandwich.

"Of course you can buddy, but you have to wait a while to let your food settle," Ryan said.

"That's what Uncle Darren said too," Adam replied.

"Well he's right."

"He said I can go play video games with Kyle and Greg after lunch."

"That sounds like a good idea. I know one particular game that up to four people can play."

"Which one is that, Dad?" Greg asked.

"Mario Kart," Ryan answered, smiling knowingly at me.

"You still owe me a game of that, Dad," I told Ryan.

"Anytime you're ready, bring it on," Ryan said, challenging me in a way he knew was going to be impossible for me to refuse.

"After lunch, in my room, you're on!"

"Am I missing something here, Guys?" Jason said, looking between Ryan and me.

"Not much, Jay," Ryan said. "When I bought Kyle his game system, I told him I could beat his pants off in that game."

"You didn't," Jason said, giggling at him.

"Oh yeah, Uncle Darren, tell him," Ryan said, looking over at him.

"What? Tell him what? That you used to beat me every time when we played that game when you were a kid? He's right Jason. Ryan is very good at the game, though honestly, he hasn't challenged me on the new one. I didn't even know it was available until the boys showed it to me."

"If you knew I was that good, then why did you keep playing the game with me?" Ryan asked, taking one of the sub sandwiches.

"Simple. You loved that game, but you didn't have very many friends to play with. I couldn't stand seeing you alone all the time, and so I played the game with you."

"So you only played with me because you felt sorry for me?" Ryan asked.

"No. I played with you because I loved you like you were my own son. It wasn't your fault you didn't have that many friends. It certainly wasn't for a lack of trying, that's for sure. But if there is one thing I know about most kids, it's that the smarter you are, the more lonely it can be because all the other kids are intimidated by you."

"That's true. No matter how many times I tried to make friends, they always seemed to lose interest in me once they saw me working on my computer."

"Boys, your father is a genius when it comes to computers. He used to do things with them that I wouldn't even dream was possible. He definitely took after his father."

"Yeah, but he was always so busy all the time," Ryan said sadly.

"I know, Ryan. That's why I stayed. That's the reason I'm here now."

"You think I'm going to be too busy to be with my sons?" Ryan asked.

"No, not at all, but you can't be with them twenty-four hours a day Ryan. You still have a company to run, you know."

"He's right, honey," Jason spoke up. "If I get this job, I'm going to be working a lot too, and I won't get to be here with the kids either. Someone has to be."

"I just don't like the idea that I can't be there for them when I should be."

"Ryan, you're a very wealthy person, but you're not that rich. You could retire today, but you'd still need some way to make money. It costs quite a bit to keep this house going, even with just one person living in it. Now there's five, and possibly six eventually."

"Seven actually," Ryan said.

"How do you figure?" Darren asked.

"Well, I'm hoping that Jason would move in with us. That apartment is really empty, and to be honest with you, I love him, and always want to be with him."

"Aw, Ryan. I love you too. But I'm just getting this job, maybe. And I still have the rest of my lease. I can't just leave there. Even with this new job I couldn't afford to pay for the remainder of the lease."

"He's got a point, Ryan," Darren said.

"Dad," I said, getting their attention. "Why don't you and Jason work out a way that he could move in and still keep the apartment?"

"What do you mean, Kyle?" Ryan asked me.

"Well, if you guys, you know, needed to be alone, you at least have his apartment to go to."

"You know Ryan, he's one smart kid," Darren chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. I honestly never thought of it that way. What do you think, Jason?"

"It sounds like something I would like. I really do want to stay with you. Just with my apartment, I didn't know how that was possible."

"Uncle Darren, can you work out the estate's finances to include Jason's apartment in our operating budget?"

"Babe, you don't have to do that. I'm willing to pay for the apartment myself," Jason said.

"And you will be," Ryan countered, smiling at Jason.

"I don't get it."

"I see where you're getting at, Ryan." Darren said, grinning at him.

"Honey, I love you very much. We're a couple now."

"I know that, silly," Jason said.

"Well, what if we pooled our resources."

"How do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Well, with both of us working, we could both set aside some of our money for maintaining our homes, both this house and your apartment. We'd put it all into one account, which has already been set up for the maintenance of this house. If you agree to this, you'd move in with me here, but we'd still have your apartment if we needed to get away for a while, you know, so it would be just the two of us."

"I think I'd like that very much, Ryan. Are you sure you're okay with this? Honestly, I hate it every time you leave when I'm at the apartment. It's like you're a part of me and when you leave, a part of me leaves with you."

"Well this way neither of us will feel that way. Trust me, Jay. It's just as difficult for me to leave as it is for you. I don't want that."

"Then let's do it. I didn't like that apartment much anyways. It was all I could afford at the time, and I really had to get out of the place I was in before."

"Oh? Where were you before?" Darren asked.

"Well, for about eight years, I was living with a woman who I was dating," Jason said.

"But, you're gay," I said, looking quizzically at him.

"That's right, Kyle, I am gay," Jason replied.

"I don't get it. If you're gay, how can you be with a woman. Doesn't being gay mean you're only attracted to boys instead of girls?"

"It's not as easy as that though, Kyle," Jason said. "Ryan do you mind? I know I haven't said much about my past, but if I'm going to be living here, then I guess you all should know more about me."

"No, babe. You are right of course. I've wanted to ask you, but I didn't feel it was right for me to do that. I mean, we really only just met after all."

"I know, but I want to get this off my chest, and having everyone here would save me from having to tell it over and over again, and it'll be difficult to tell it once, never mind several times," Jason said sadly.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, babe," Ryan said, reaching over to place his hand on Jason's.

"Yes I do," Jason said, smiling in thanks at Ryan.

"I guess it all started when I was very young, not much older than you are now Kyle. I was never popular in school. Actually, I was constantly being teased and picked on by the other students. There was one student in particular who picked on me the most. He wasn't particularly tall, or imposing, but the one thing I knew, was that I was scared of him. I am not a violent person. I wouldn't know how to defend myself if I tried. Well, one day he cornered me, and forced me to walk with him to a park known as Sherwood Park where he made me strip off my clothes and touch myself in front of him.

"I think he wanted to do more, but someone was coming and he didn't have that chance. The funny thing is, after that day, he pretty much left me alone. Sometimes he would still tease me, but he wouldn't bully me like he used to. I'm guessing that he was feeling guilty about what he made me do and stayed away from me.

"After that happened, I went to my parents and told them what had happened. Of course they didn't believe me. They never did. By the time I was sixteen years old, they had sent me to three different councilors to try and talk about my problems. The stupid thing was, the only problem I had was that I was shy, and that my own family didn't trust me. The funny thing is, the only way I really got their attention was when I did something bad. One such time was when I was almost seventeen. Don't ask me why I did it, because I couldn't tell you if I tried, but I stole a CD from a store, and got caught. I was charged with shoplifting and had to get a lawyer and go to court and everything. But it had the effect of getting my parents' attention. They paid me a lot during the weeks after it happened. It still didn't do any good though. I was pardoned for shoplifting, and was free to go.

"My dad had given me a huge list of things I had to do for shoplifting. Actually, it was one of the reasons the judge pardoned me. He said that the punishment my dad was giving me was worse than any punishment the judge could give me. So he let me go. After a while, things kind of returned to normal around the house. My parents still didn't trust me. They also wouldn't do anything to help me get ahead in life. They told me it was my responsibility to make my own decisions in my life.

"Actually they told me that when I was thirteen years old. I felt isolated and abandoned by my family. I stopped seeing my friends, I kept to myself, and wouldn't go anywhere really unless I had to. There was a day that I felt especially alone and worthless to anyone, and was about to cut my wrists with an X-acto blade. I didn't though, otherwise I wouldn't be alive today.

"In grade nine, I met someone. It was probably the first time in my life that I actually felt something for anyone, other than as family or as a friend. His name was Oliver. I was too young to understand what I was feeling, but every time I saw him, I was happy. We went to chess club together, and he was the only one of any of them that would actually play a game with me, other than the teacher. I wouldn't say that we were friends, because I was very shy, and afraid of what I was feeling for him. The sad thing is, I never did get to tell him how I felt."

"Why is that though, babe?" Ryan asked.

"Because it was a couple months after we had met, that on the way to school he was struck and killed by a car running the crossing guard's stop sign. I was waiting for him on the other side of the road, and I had to watch as his body went flying through the air and land in a heap several feet away from the car that hit him. He lay there bleeding, and there was nothing I could do for him. I lost my first love that day, and I never even got the chance to tell him that I loved him."

By now, everyone in the room was crying over what we heard. Even Uncle Darren, who I thought wouldn't have, as he didn't seem the type. But he was. Ryan had his arm around Jason as Jason had leaned into Ryan and was sobbing on his shoulder.

About that time, the doorbell rang. Uncle Darren got up to get the door, as both Ryan and Jason were holding each other and crying. Tears were coming down my face as I learned what happened to Jason when he was younger. I know from my own experience what it is like to lose someone you love, but with Jason, it was worse. He had to watch the person he loved die right in front of him. I don't know how anyone could be able to handle that. I know I wouldn't be able to. A couple minutes later, Uncle Darren came back into the dining room, followed by Anna Jacobs.

"What's going on in here? It almost looks like a funeral rather than lunch," she said.

"Jason was telling us about his past, and it brought out memories I don't think he intended to come out," Darren said.

"Oh. Is there anything I can do?" she asked, obviously concerned about Jason, who was still in Ryan's arms, but was no longer crying.

"He just needs a minute, Anna," Ryan said, looking over at her. "I knew Jason had had a rough life, but I didn't know how rough, until just now." Slowly Jason pulled away from Ryan, wiping the tears that still streaked his face away.

"I'm sorry Anna. I didn't mean for anyone to see me do that," Jason said apologetically.

"No need to be sorry, Jason. I've always believed that it's best for people to talk about things that have been bothering them. It sounds as if you've been holding things in for a long time."

"I have," Jason said.

"Anna, Jason just told us about how he had to watch the first person he ever loved get killed by a driver running a stop sign."

"Oh my goodness!" Anna exclaimed. "How awful! When was this?"

"When I was in grade nine," Jason replied.

"I hope you had your parents to help you through it," Anna said.

"They don't know. I've never told them about it."

"But why?" Anna gasped.

"Anna, it seems that Jason's relationship to his parents is strained at best. They don't believe him, or trust him. Not even when he told them about being forced to strip naked in a park by another boy who was bullying him. He's already been to three councilors. Obviously they weren't able to help him," Ryan said sadly.

"Jason, I can get you in touch with someone I know can help you, if you want."

"I don't want to see another councilor," Jason said defiantly.

"Babe, this has been bothering you for a long time. You need to be able to deal with it," Ryan said softly.

"All I need is you though, Ryan. If I have you, then everything will be okay," Jason said.

"No it won't be. Look, I will love you, and be there for you. I'm not going to leave you, not for this, or anything else. But I'm not a psychiatrist. I can't help you with some of the things I know you're still bottling up inside you."

"You promise though? Everyone's left me."

"I promise, baby. I'm not going anywhere," Ryan said.

"I guess I'll give it another try then," Jason said.

"Good, when I leave here today, I can get in touch with her."

"But how will I pay for it?" Jason asked.

"Don't you worry about that. She gets paid by the Provincial Government," Anna said.

"Oh. Okay then. But there is still more I need to tell you."

"No, you don't, Jay," Ryan said.

"I have to do this, Ryan. Please let me finish," Jason pleaded with him.

"It'll be good for him if he does, Ryan." Anna said.

"Okay babe, but I'm going to be right with you."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Jason said, finally smiling since he started talking about his past.

"After Oliver, I didn't want to date anyone. At least, until I was twenty. I had already moved out of my parents' house by that time, and was living with a guy and his two young sons. He was a really nice person, and didn't charge me a lot for rent, so that was nice. But he wasn't the one I fell in love with. No, actually it was the son of one of his friends. His name was Mike, and he was sixteen years old.

"I never meant to fall in love with him, but I couldn't help myself. It just happened. For the longest time, I thought he shared those feelings with me too. Boy was I a fool. You see, he was a very lonely person, much like I was. He lived in his home with his mother and sister. His mother had divorced his father when he was just a baby, but he still gets to see him.

"Mike and I became really close. We were always doing things with each other. Riding our bikes, or going to the movies, or playing games. Basically just having fun and enjoying each other's company. Eventually our relationship became physical, and about six months after we started going out, we made love for the first time. It was the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced before in my life. I lost my virginity to him that day. But nothing prepared me for what happened a few months later.

"By this time I had moved into my own apartment, and Mike was spending a lot of time with me, but towards the end, the time he spent grew less and less. Then one day he told me the truth. And it felt like he ripped my heart out of my chest that day. He came into my apartment one day and told me that he didn't want to be with me anymore. He told me that the only reason he was with me was because I did things for him and that I was putting out when his girlfriend wasn't.

"You have no idea how that made me feel, to know that he was using me for sex. I felt dirty, and cheap, and basically worthless. All over again. He left me that day, and I haven't seen him since. You know what's stupid though. Even though he hurt me like that, I still can't help but love him. We had so many good times together. I couldn't just forget all that."

"No you couldn't Jason," Anna said. "It's one of the ways we keep on going, by only looking at the good things in our lives and not dwelling on the bad things. You could just as easily have dwelt on how much he hurt you, but instead, you look at all the good times you had with him, and that is the most healthy way of dealing with it in my opinion."

"Thanks Anna," Jason said.

"So what happened after that? How did you end up with dating a woman?" I asked him.

"You dated a woman?" Anna asked Jason, a surprised look on her face.

"Yeah, I did. For eight long years."

"Now this I have to hear," Anna said.

"There's not really all that much to tell. After my relationship with Mike, I shut away everything that I felt for guys. I had been through too much and I didn't want to go through with that again. It's funny how things turn out in the end, but if I knew that then, I wouldn't have gone out with her.

"Basically she was an older woman that cared about me. I guess after Mike, she gave me what I needed. Love. I was desperate for it. It didn't take long for our relationship to become physical, but for me, something was missing. It wasn't the same as what I felt when I was with Mike. It took me eight long years to realize why I wasn't able to enjoy making love with her as much as I wanted.

"One day I had a breakdown. I mean I completely fell apart, and at work no less. They sent me home, and I had to have a long talk with a councilor at the hospital. The breakdown was so complete that I was pretty much just walking around in a daze. The councilor that I went to see eventually made me realize that I was hiding from myself, and that if I continued to do it, things would get much worse. He wanted to prescribe for me anti-depressants, but I refused. I know what those meds can do to a person.

"He made me realize, in the end, that I had to accept who I was. I never really loved her, just what she could do for me. She was like a teddy bear that I could hold onto until I was able to heal from the hurt I was feeling with Mike. I began to finally accept the fact that I was gay. I'm thirty-four years old, and I only accepted the fact that I was gay last June."

"Oh wow!" Anna exclaimed.

"What about now, Jason?" Ryan asked.

"Now? Now I've found someone I have fallen in love with, and I know it's real this time. I love you, Ryan. The day you asked me to be your boyfriend was the happiest day of my life."

"Trust me, babe. I feel the same way about you," with that, Ryan leaned over and gave Jason a loving kiss on the lips in front of everyone in the room.

"I'm glad everything is alright here," Anna said. "But I still want you to talk to my friend. I'll have her call you sometime tomorrow, if that's alright."

"I will, and thank you for everything Anna," Jason said, looking over at her.

"Don't mention it. I just like to see families like yours be happy. And don't think for one minute that this isn't a family, because It is."

"I know it is," Jason said, now looking into Ryan's eyes. "I have a family, something I've always wanted."

"Does that mean you're going to be my daddy too?" Adam asked, looking at Jason.

"I guess it does Adam, if you will want me to be, that is,"

"Yeah!" Greg, Adam, and I yelled at the same time.

"I think it's unanimous," Anna laughed.

"Yep, I'm thinking it is," Ryan said, laughing with her. "But at any rate, what brings you by today, Anna?"

"Well, I've come to deliver good and bad news."

"I think we'll listen the bad news first," Ryan said.

"Good idea. The bad news is that Adam's father's motion before the courts is being allowed to continue despite his arrest today. I just got back from the courthouse where his lawyer successfully argued that getting fired from his current job did not give the province the right to deny him his legal parental rights."

"That's ridiculous. He was fired for discrimination in the workplace, and all but admitted that he abused his son."

"I know. The only reason I can explain it, is that we've drawn up a judge who leans more for parental rights than children's rights.

"And if it is proved that he abused Adam?"

"Then according to the law, we would have grounds to summarily revoke his parental rights and bypass the courts entirely, due to child protection laws. If he were to try and fight us on that, it would come out in court what he did to Adam and it would be virtually impossible for him to regain custody."

"Are you saying there is still a chance he could get Adam back?"

"If he's very smart and can find a way to prove that no abuse occurred, then yes, he could get custody of Adam back."

"So we have to play this very carefully then," Ryan said.

"I'd say that's a fair assessment."

"What's the good news then?" Ryan asked.

"You're going to get a kicker out of this. Despite the judge allowing Rick's motion to continue, we were able to force his recent arrest and termination from your company to be amended to our case against Rick. That means that if he is going to claim an unsuitable living environment exists currently for Adam, he also has to prove that one didn't exist in the first place, and that his termination was invalid. Considering the evidence we have against him, I'd say the chances of him gaining custody of Adam have gone from slim to virtually non-existant."

"Well, that is good news then," Jason said.

"Yes it is. But there's more. Because he has initiated this action against you, and in part, the CAS, we were also able to include the original documentation which caused both Adam and Tommy to be taken away from him in the first place. So this means that he has to fight three official records of his unsuitability to be Adam's father."

"What about Tommy?" Adam asked.

"I'm getting to that, little one," she said.

"Rick hasn't amended his motion to include Tommy, which means that he isn't interested in being a father to Tommy any more. What I would like to do there is to set up an appointment with Tommy's foster parents and see if we can come to some type of arrangement that would allow the two boys to be together again."

"Do you think that they would agree to that? What if Tommy wants to move in with us?" Ryan asked.

"That's something we're going to have to discuss, if it comes up. I don't know what they will say, nor do I know how close to Tommy they have become. They may want to pursue adoption proceedings themselves."

"Whatever it takes, Anna, these boys deserve to be together again. No one should have to grow up without their family," Ryan said.

"I agree with you Ryan. So, what I'm going to do now is go have a talk with Tommy's foster parents and see where they stand. As far as I know, they don't even know about Adam, except that Tommy has a younger brother."

"Wouldn't Tommy have told them about Adam?" Jason asked.

"Not if he was still trying to protect him, which is entirely possible, given the information we have on their father."

"He's not my dad," Adam spoke up. "Ryan's my dad now."

"Of course he is, sweetheart," Anna said. "And we're going to make sure that you and your brothers will continue to live together for a very long time, as long as you want."

"Can you tell Tommy that I miss him?" Adam asked.

"Of course I will, Adam." Then turning to Ryan she said, "I should get going now. I'll get in touch with you as soon as I hear from Tommy's foster family."

"Thank you, Anna," Ryan said.

"Anna," Darren interrupted. "If Ryan doesn't mind, would you like to join us for dinner tonight?"

Anna looked over at Ryan who was smiling and nodded his head in agreement. "You know what? I think I will join you. Thanks Darren."

"We'll see you at around seven tonight then?

"I look forward to it, Ryan. Good bye all," Anna said, leaving for the front door, with Uncle Darren following closely behind her.

"That man is madly in love with her," Jason said, watching the two of them disappear out of the room.

"Yep!" Ryan replied, smiling.